The breakdown of the Grand Alliance + impact on Germany Flashcards
Who were in the Grand Alliance?
the USSR (Stalin), the USA (Roosevelt) and Britain (Churchill)
Why did the Grand Alliance break down?
tensions between the east and west
different ideologies
no longer united by their opposition to Hitler after the war-differences became more obvious
long standing differences
distrust
What were the different ideologies of the two sides?
Capitalism and democracy VS communism and totalitarianism
these differences explain the start of the cold war
Why was there tension in the Grand Alliance?
Stalin believed the West wanted to destroy communism
The West believed Stalin was encouraging communist revolutions in the West, and was determined to take over
Why was there distrust in the Grand Alliance?
Stalin believed Britain and the USA delayed opening a second front in World War II so that the Soviets would suffer greater casualties, and eventually be destroyed.
The USA didn’t tell the USSR they had developed an atomic bomb
What important decisions were made at Potsdam by the Grand Alliance?
(headers)
Occupation zones
Territorial losses
Reparations
Armed forces
What decisions were made at Potsdam concerning occupation zones?
Germany would be divided into 4 zones of occupation to be administered by Britain, USA, Soviet Union, France independently
Berlin (located in Soviet zone) would also be divided into 4 sectors, each occupied by 1 of the victorious powers
What decisions were made at Potsdam regarding territorial losses?
Alsace Lorraine returned to France 1945
the new border with the Poles was effectively drawn at the Oder-Neisse line, meaning Germany lost some prime agricultural + coal mining territory
What decisions were made at Potsdam regarding reparations?
agreement that each power was to take reparations from its own occupying zone
in addition USSR was to receive 1/4 of reparations from western zones in exchange for supply of raw materials + agricultural goods
What decisions were made at Potsdam regarding armed forces?
all German military forces were disbanded + prevented from having any independent military independence under Allied occupation
Why did the made decisions at Potsdam contribute towards creating a divided Germany?
because the agreements reached were limited and there was no permanent solution to the ‘German problem’
Why were the agreements made at Potsdam limited?
due to the ideological differences but also because of the USA’s and Soviet Union’s political + economic concerns
Why was Germany divided at the end of the war?
Population of Germany was divided between the 3 occupying powers in the west and USSR
they could not be merged into a united Germany because of East-West ideological divisions
some argue the division of Germany goes back to Nazi actions
Why do some argue that the division of Germany goes back to Nazi actions?
because it was their expansionism that ultimately resulted in Allied forces occupying much of Central Europe
Why did the USSR view Germany - particularly the possibility of a resurgent Germany - with trepidation?
they had been invaded by them twice in the last 30 years
the brutality of events in WW2 + large number of Soviet troops + civilians killed
What did the USSR do to ensure that Germany would not become resurgent/invade or cause them harm again?
established a series of buffer states in Eastern Europe + wanted to expand this policy
What did the West view the USSR’s establishment of buffer states as?
an attempt by the Soviet Union to spread communism & continue its policy of ‘world revolution’
When did the Allies meet at Yalta & what did they agree?
Feb 1945
once Hitler had been defeated, Germany and Berlin would be divided into four zones
When did the Allies meet at Potsdam?
In July
By the time the Allies met at Potsdam, where had the Red Army been established?
the Red Army was established in Eastern Europe, giving the Soviets a strong negotiating position
What was agreed at Potsdam in terms of control of Germany?
that Germany would be administered under joint Allied Control through the Allied Control Council (ACC)
this was a problem as decisions had to be unanimous
What did the denazification process of Germany involve?
bringing major war criminals to trial, which was done at Nuremberg
What was the plan of the communists, led by Walter Ulbricht?
to gain control of Berlin while giving the impression of democracy
What did the Soviet Military Administration issue?
(East)
In June
Order Number 2 - allowed the formation of political parties
What parties were formed in the east as a result of Order Number 2?
the Communist (KPD) and Social Democratic Party (SPD)
they were forcibly merged in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED)
What had happened in the east in 1948, despite the emergence of a range of parties?
any appearance of democracy had been abandoned as the SED took control of other parties + brought them together an anti-fascist bloc
How were the political parties in the western zones different to the eastern zone?
political parties developed from the ground up & a larger no of parties developed
elections were to be held at local level so Western Germany could “rebuild its life on democratic and peaceful basis”
What did the Communists argue that Nazism was a result of?
capitalism
therefore capitalism had to be abolished to deal with the roots of Nazism
What did the Eastern zone’s approach to denazification (abolishing capitalism) involve?
the break up of large agricultural estates, the takeover of banks + factories
dismantling some equipment + taking it back to Soviet Union as reparations
Russians even kidnapped some experts + scientists to help reconstruct equipment they had seized
What was the Soviets focus/concern in terms of their zone?
to strip their zone of as much of its assets as possible
What was Britain’s + USA’s focus/concern in terms of their zone?
To rebuild their zone
What was France’s focus/concern in terms of their zone?
they did not want a strong Germany, so wanted large reparations from their zone
What was there in all four zones?
serious problems in tying to rebuild the German economy
What winter was particularly severe? (hindered economic development)
1946/47 winter, it added to the shortages
What did Britain have to do in order to fund it’s zone?
introduce bread rationing at home to fulfil its obligation under international law
What did these developments suggest?
(severe 1946/47 winter + Britain’s weak economy)
co-operation between the zones was essential and this was evident by 1947
Why did it become evident by 1947, that cooperation between the zones was essential?
food had to be imported and was costing US$700 million per year
economic reconstruction was not helped by the loss of machinery to the Soviet Union as reparations
What did the British and Americans do, to overcome these problems?
(food being imported + cost, economic reconstruction being difficult due to loss of machinery to Soviet Union as reparations)
the British and Americans merged their zones to form Bizonia in Jan 1947
When did the French join the British and Americans + merge their zone?
In April 1949, to form Trizonia
What was the impact of the formation of Trizonia?
the Western powers had largely brought back the old capitalist system (complete contrast to East)
What did the divergence in the economic development of the two zones do?
added to arguments over reparations, served only to increase tensions
In the Soviet zone, what was abandoned by 1948/49?
democracy was formally abandoned, and the SED announced a Marxist-Leninist ‘Party of a New Type’
What became clear, as a result of democracy being formally abandoned in the Soviet zone?
that Ulbricht + the SED leadership could envisage a Germany only under a communist model
brought them into conflict with those in the western zone
What did the USSR ensure?
that communists got into power in many eastern European countries, these became satellite states (Soviet controlled communist governments)
Truman saw this as a blatant attempt to spread communism through out Europe
When did Churchill give his Iron Curtain speech?
5th March 1946
What did Truman do in 1947?
(speech)
gave a speech in which he promised that the USA would give aid to countries that were resisting Communist takeover
became known as the Truman Doctrine
What was the aim of the Truman Doctrine?
To prevent the further spread of Communism
What did the Truman Doctrine do?
made preventing communism a major goal of the US
created the policy of containment
What did the USA believe the breeding ground for communism was?
Poverty
to prevent this they poured recourses into the European economy through the Marshall Plan
When was Marshall Aid introduced?
June 1947
What was Marshall Aid?
a plan to stabilise Europe and therefore stop the spread of communism
it offered considerable financial aid to Europe
How did the USA benefit from the Marshall Plan?
the USA gained considerable economic benefits from the trade it stimulated
How did Marshall Aid increase tension?
although aid was offered to the Soviet union, it was rejected & described as ‘dollar diplomacy’
East was isolated as aid was given to the Western zones but not East
created further division
Why did the Truman doctrine cause tension?
the Soviet Union saw the implementation of the doctrine as a hostile challenge & façade of American imperialism, showing clear ideological as well as material differences
